Start Listening To: pencil
Blending melody, intimacy, and a cinematic touch, pencil are carving out their own space in London’s music scene.
London-based band pencil may only have two singles out, but they’ve already made a strong impression, sharing stages with The Japanese House and earning praise from BBC 6 Music. Blending acoustic warmth, cinematic melodies, and a touch of romanticism, their sound stands apart from the more angular post-punk dominating the scene. With their latest single, Sparkling Water, out now and a headline show at The Waiting Room on the horizon, we caught up with the band to talk about their creative process, early live experiences, and the deeper meaning behind their name.
For those unfamiliar with your music, can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
pencil is Kamran Khan (vocals, acoustic guitar), Dom Potts (bass), Thomas Fiquet (drums), Cai Burns (lead guitar), and Coco Inman (violin). As individuals, we come from various corners of the globe, but we have all been based in London for some time and formed the band here. Our music is very much born out of the way that we come together as five individual musicians.
Your new single, "Sparkling Water," has been described as a "shared daydream"—what inspired the track, and how did it take shape in the studio?
The song came about at the start of a writing trip to PRAH Studios in Margate. We had prepared a lot of material to work on during those few days, but this song came out of nowhere before we got into any of the other stuff. There was an electric piano in the live room, which he hadn’t ever written with before, so we naturally gravitated towards it. We got a rough version of the song down in the afternoon and then came back around midnight to finish it.
There’s a real sense of melody and romance in your sound, which feels like a contrast to the recent wave of post-punk bands. Do you see yourselves as reacting against that trend, or is it just a natural evolution of your influences?
As individuals and in our other projects, we’ve always gravitated towards melodic music, regardless of what might be going on around us. We’d hate to give the recent post-punk revival credit for the birth of pencil.
With only two singles out, you’ve already played major festivals and toured with The Japanese House. How has that early live experience shaped the band?
We’ve all had experience playing in other bands over the years, so we felt quite ready to play those kinds of things as soon as we started the band. That being said, we feel very lucky to have been able to play so many great shows so early on.
What’s your creative process like as a five-piece? Does one person bring in an idea, or is it more of a collective effort?
It’s often both of those options. Frequently, someone will come to the rest of the band with a song or idea and we will work on the music together. We all contribute to writing and between the five of us, there are a multitude of combinations for creation.
You’ve received praise from a range of publications and support from BBC 6 Music. Has that industry recognition changed anything for you, or do you try to keep the focus on just making music?
We feel really encouraged by the support we’ve received so far. While there is an awareness that some people are listening now, it doesn’t interfere with our creative process, we just feel motivated to keep exploring and sharing music.
Your lineup includes violin, acoustic and electric guitars, and a strong rhythm section. How do you approach arranging your songs to make the most of that dynamic instrumentation?
Everyone in the band has a very defined role - there’s only one violin, one acoustic guitar and so on. When we arrange a song, we give equal attention to all of the musicians and instruments. We all have our strengths as players, but with each song, it’s a case of listening and making a call on how best to use those strengths.
London has a long history of fostering exciting new music scenes. Do you feel part of any particular movement, or is it more about carving out your own space?
We feel like we’re doing our own thing with pencil, but we are definitely feeling a kinship with some emerging bands in the city. If there is a wave of more melodic and even romantic music coming through at the moment, we’re more than happy to be a part of that.
You’ve got a headline show at The Waiting Room in May. How do you approach a headline set differently from a support slot or festival performance?
Yes indeed, the 28th May to be exact! This is more or less our first proper headline show, so we’ll be enjoying the opportunity to play a longer set which will include a lot of brand new material.
Your music has a cinematic, dreamlike quality - are there any films or visual art influences that feed into your songwriting?
We are definitely all quite into film. While we don’t necessarily cite films as inspiration while writing music, we do use a lot of visual language in the creative process and also in the lyrics them selves.
The name "pencil" is intriguing - what’s the story behind it?
Truthfully, we were just going through a list of potential band names and decided to go with this one. The deeper meanings and relevance soon emerged as we lived with the name for a while. The pencil is a creative tool, it can be sharpened or broken. We felt this was a pretty great metaphor for a band.
What do you love right now?
Piper’s Wild Rosemary and Thyme flavour crisps.
What do you hate right now?
The sense of apocalyptic dread hanging in the air.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s still important to you?
Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys is a timeless masterpiece.
What’s next for pencil after "Sparkling Water"? Should we expect an EP, album, or more live dates on the horizon?
There will be an EP very soon and we’re working on songs for the first pencil album, which we’re very excited about. More shows too!
